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‘If you gave because you liked the site, or even just wanted to humiliate me by calling my bluff, you're free to leave it - but believe me, I would not fault you in the slightest for asking for your money back.’

‘For these emotions to work, they must have a kind of inevitability built into them, such that, when someone calls your bluff, you cannot avoid carrying out your promise or threat.’

‘In a very real sense, I think the big commercial publishers now are clearly calling our bluff.’

‘And it's about time someone from the conservative side of politics called their bluff.’

‘Right or wrong, some of the guards called their bluff, and we can learn from that.’

‘In effect, where polluters had previously argued that emission control was too expensive, the new system called their bluff.’

‘I called his bluff, expecting him to laugh - to turn around and leave.’

‘But now that we know people are doing this, it's time for us to start calling their bluff: You aren't really talking to anyone are you?’

‘I think furiously, she's calling my bluff, I'll push even further’

‘Or, what if we called their bluff and didn't give them the money and see what happens then?’

‘And should it respond by accommodating its demands, or by calling its bluff?’

‘In this case, the concerned students have called the publication 's bluff, pointing out that consideration for the larger community was not taken when the ‘back door’ article was produced.’

‘Just as the sailor will bring lively tales of adventure, he may also be able to ferret out falsehoods and call deceivers' bluffs, because he has gained wisdom from life's challenges and insights into human nature.’

‘The bluff was called and it was game back on as players hastily deserted favourite watering holes.’

‘His premise is that Democrats are ‘aghast’ at the president's ‘new’ Social Security proposal because he ‘has finally called their bluff.’’

2(in poker or brag) make an opponent show their hand in order to reveal that its value is weaker than their heavy betting suggests.

‘I'm just a little disappointed that it went this far to play poker and to have someone call your bluff.’

‘When not daring an opponent to call his bluff, he seduced them.’

‘One company has called the other's bluff and laid down on the table four Kings - four of a kind.’

‘There were two reasons why I called his bluff.’

‘I called his bluff correctly though and I ended up getting all the chips back off him and knocking him out so was all good in the end.’

‘My arrangement with this aunt is that she calls me or if I need to call her I call collect and then she calls me back.’

‘I'm sorry I had to call collect, but I have news.’

‘A prison social worker said that prisoners may call collect on pay telephones inside the prison.’

‘What do you mean, ‘Why don't I just call collect?‘’

‘From countries where toll-free calls are not available, customers are able to call collect.’

‘You could call collect but you had to pay for your calls, either way.’

‘Don't accept gifts from strangers or call someone, even if they invite you to call collect.’

‘They charge extra money to inmates who call collect to their families.’

‘You will also have your own phone from which long distance calls can be made by calling collect or using a charge card.’

‘You called collect to tell us about your new dog?’

call something into play

Cause or require something to start working so that one can make use of it.

‘our active participation as spectators is called into play’

‘These companies charge several hundred to several thousand dollars for their services, so it would be wise for you to have an idea of exactly what you need before calling them into play.’

‘For legs, it's the same thing - you have to call the secondary muscles into play to put maximum pressure on the thighs.’

‘He created what was called a ‘subroutine’ for each note, then called them into play, as needed.’

‘As the muscles of the athlete or the fingers of the craftsman become fit or skillful through constant exercise, so the spiritual graces of the new man are developed by regularly calling them into play.’

‘To save time and effort, we'll put that part into a separate file and just call it into play when we need it.’

call something into (or in) question

Cast doubt on something.

‘these findings call into question the legitimacy of the proceedings’

‘It was the second time that her victory was called into question.’

‘Yet in recent years this victory has been called into question.’

‘But in recent months, the future of the project has been called into question.’

‘She has filed a civil lawsuit which, of course, calls her motives into question.’

‘Apparently, these concerns had been raised before, even by an outfit whose reliability as a watchdog has been called into question recently.’

‘My honesty has been called into question and it has made me look like a criminal.’

‘Integrity is one of the cornerstones upon which reliable journalism is based, and, when it is called into question, we begin to doubt everything we read in newspapers and magazines and see on television.’

‘People are very much offended that their patriotism has been called into question.’

informal Used to express approval (or criticism) of a person's decision or suggestion.

‘We think it would be a bad call politically for her to run in 2004, but what a difference it would make in the race.’

‘They made a choice to not do that and to take the big fire engine which shaved off a lot of time and it was a good call because they were able to get to me that much sooner.’

‘Medical staff deal with a constant flow of difficult decisions and, occasionally, they make what appears to be a bad call.’

‘The decision to keep interest rates unchanged looks like a good call.’

‘We skipped the D & D 30th Anniversary party in favor of sleep, which was a good call.’

‘He admitted he was wrong - that he made a bad call.’

‘He was very agitated and concerned, and on several occasions he said to me it was a very bad call and he obviously realised he had made a very significant error.’

‘We made a good call early on by not pitting on that first stop and it paid-off.’

‘The authorities may have made a bad call on some of the cases, but that doesn't give those tenants a constitutional case.’

‘Deservedly they both received posthumous Medals of Honor, but the question has to be asked whether it was a good call by their leaders to send two men to almost certain death without being able to provide follow-up support.’

on call

1(of a person) able to be contacted in order to provide a professional service if necessary, but not formally on duty.

‘our technicians are on call around the clock’

‘There is an emergency ski patrol service on call 24 hours a day.’

‘Generally, these caregivers work year round with no vacation and are on call 24 hours a day.’

‘Top marks also to all who remained on duty, or on call, over the festive period.’

‘I am on call today and went in to do my ward round earlier.’

‘If a physical exam is to be done the physician on call will be contacted.’

‘You have to get up in the middle of the night if you're on call.’

‘The physicians can work fewer hours, both in the office and on call, and as they are able to delegate many tasks they can provide better services.’

‘If she is not on duty, she is on call so that she can respond around the clock to patients' needs.’

‘If you work in a global organization, you might be on call 24 hours a day for troubleshooting or consulting.’

‘The team is on call 24 hours-a-day, and is trained in resuscitation techniques and how to use live-saving defibrillators.’

‘High cost options such as recalling the loan and converting a term loan to an on-call loan are less preferred choices.’

‘Keep your loan on call and simply pay off the 3% minimum each month.’

to call one's own

Used to describe something that one can genuinely feel belongs to one.

‘I had not an item to call my own’

‘Numerous extensions and conversions later, they now have a substantial seven-bedroom home, so everyone has a room to call their own.’

‘The group desperately need premises to call their own, somewhere to store all their equipment, to have freedom of rehearsal times and a place to feel comfortable in.’

‘Village youths could be given a place to call their own and to hang out with their friends.’

‘We don't have a sofa, a coffee table, a mirror, a desk - not a stick of furniture to call our own.’

‘Ideally the Youth Club would love to have a place to call their own where they could store equipment and project work.’

‘There were hundreds of people living along the coastline who suddenly did not have anything to call their own.’

‘On the most frigid day of this year, the restaurant overflows with penniless customers who make a cup of coffee last all day because they don't have a job to go to or a home to call their own.’

‘The teenagers simply wanted a space to call their own.’

‘While this dispute continues, Isobel can only wrap up her children up as best she can, and hope that they will soon have a home to call their own.’

‘The club is for the youth of the area and the youth group will endeavour to provide a safe environment for them, where they can have fun and a venue to call their own.’

within call

Near enough to be summoned by calling.

‘she moved into the guest room, within call of her father's room’

‘How many people may there be in London, who, if we had brought them deviously and blindfolded, to this street, fifty paces from the Station House, and within call of St. Giles's church, would know it for a not remote part of the city in which their lives are passed?’

‘She might call for help if he attempted again as neighbors lived within call.’

‘He had retired discreetly to the doorway, ready within call should Master need anything.’

Phrasal Verbs

call for

1Make necessary.

‘desperate times call for desperate measures’

‘It calls for tough and focussed decisions and no soft and vague measures.’

‘Where safety calls for drastic measures such as bollards to be installed, then fixed bollards should be the method used.’

‘The alleged plan called for the two men to pretend that he was a hostage.’

‘This condition calls for urgent medical attention at any time of the day or night.’

‘FBI policy calls for an investigation whenever an agent fires a weapon.’

‘This is a sensitive area which I must draw to your attention and feel it calls for some action before it causes more distress.’

‘I think a sense of proportion is called for here.’

‘Desperate times such as these call for the celebration of small victories such as this.’

‘It does not necessarily call for a large investment to implement it.’

‘The production schedule would call for filming a total of 100 episodes in just two years.’